Ice-Cream Word Tour: Istanbul

I could not leave my Ice-Cream World Tour without a recommendation for the fabulous, turkish elastic ice-cream, also known as dondurma.  You will find it in small stands and candy shops all over the place. I had mine in Sultanahmet square, in a big terrace right in front of Haghia Sophia.
It resembles dough, and owes its remarkable elasticity to salep, a flour made of dried orchid tubers, and to mastic, a natural resin from a tree, common in Greece (Pistacia lentiscus). When you get it, you will for sure be teased by the vendor, who will pretend to give it to you and then take it away, several times. If you order two flavors, they will layer one scoop over the other. I had raspberry and lemon, the boy had chocolate and vanilla. Quite the experience and a perfect delicious treat for the warm days.

First image via here